Data entry is often a tedious and repetitive task, Entering a large volume of data into complex application screens is an error prone process. Users are prone to make mistakes during data entry due to the large number of fields they have to enter data into and also due to the repetitive nature of performing the same task again and again. These mistakes create delays in processing information that the application provides, leading to process delays and breakdowns. For example, consider the case of a purchase order user interface in a supplier relationship management application. The user interface is complex and users entering data are likely to make multiple mistakes before they submit the form for purchase order creation. Due to these errors, the purchase department may take a long time to process the purchase order resulting in issues like late vendor payment etc.
During repetitive data entry tasks, the user often knows the data fields that need an entry, but the nature of the user interface may be such that these data fields may not be next to each other. They may be distributed over different places in the user interface. The user interface may contain some non-mandatory fields, read-only fields and data fields with default values interspersed between the data fields that the user is required to fill. The user may not want to waste time scrolling through the user interface to find fields that require entries.